The six legislators suspended on Monday by the Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga have today petitioned High Court seeking redress against her decision as the house debates the controversial age limit bill.
However, in contravention of the resultant court order compelling Kadaga and the Attorney General to appear before court at 2pm today, security at Parliament denied the six together with their lawyer Erias Lukwago, entry in order to serve the Speaker.
The six, Jonathan Odur (Erute South), Allan Ssewanyana (Makindye West), Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda (Kira Municipality), Gerald Karuhanga (Ntungamo Municipality), Anthony Akol (Kilak North) and Mubarak Munyagwa (Kawempe South), who are now expected to miss the next six plenary sittings, want court to stop the Speaker from suspending opposition MPs without ‘clear reasons’.
And according to their lawyer Lukwago, Kadaga’s decision was a gross violation of parliamentary rules of procedure because she first adjourned the house then suspended his clients.
“Their suspension was illegal because she was not a Speaker after adjourning the house,” Lukwago argued.
The opposition MPS were on Monday suspended following chaos that broke out in the plenary sitting during the reading of a report drafted by the parliamentary and legal affairs committee in respect to the controversial age limit bill that seeks to have the 75-year constitutional cap expunged.
Meanwhile, Kadaga has adjourned the house for 30 minutes, after which MPs will return to the chambers to vote on the Bill that was tabled by Igara West legislator Raphael Magyezi.
